CHICAGO (AP), Jason Van Dyke, a former Chicago police officer, was released on Thursday. He had served less than half of the nearly seven-year sentence for murdering Black teenager Laquan McDonald. This early release was widely criticized as a setback in the city’s efforts to improve relations with its Black community and its police department.
Camile Lindsey was the chief of staff at the state Department of Corrections. She stated in an email Van Dyke was released from Taylorville Correctional Center in central Illinois at 12:15 AM.
Van Dyke is white and was the first Chicago officer to be convicted for murder in 2018. Many Black leaders believed that his convictions for second-degree murderand 16 charges of aggravated battery showed a willingness to hold police officers accountable. They say he will be released after serving three years, four months of his sentence.
The Rev. said that this was the best example of how Black lives don’t matter as much to other people. Marshall Hatch was a prominent minister from the West Side of the city. "It sends a negative message to the community that a murder is being tried in such a short time."
Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Toronto, made similar points.
She said that she understood why the sentence was being given to her Thursday, especially since many Black and brown men are sent to prison for committing lesser crimes.
The NAACP asked U.S. attorney General Merrick Garland this week to bring federal civil rights cases against Van Dyke in order to give justice to the teen and community. Tracie Hunter, Tracie's grandmother, asked for the same.
It is also unknown whether Van Dyke will face federal charges. It is clear that Van Dyke's release comes at an extremely difficult time for the city of Chicago and its police department. Chicago is witnessing a rise in violent crime. There were more murders in Chicago last year than any other quarter century. Police abuse victims continue to be compensated by the city, which continues to pay multimillion-dollar settlements. Prosecutors announced this week that they would exonerate nearly 50 other people falsely or framed by police for drug crimes.
The 2014 shooting led to a court-ordered consent order which resulted in many reforms including the creation a civilian-led oversight board for police and new rules for police shooting investigations. After refusing to release the McDonald's police video for over a year, and only after a judge ordered it so, the city must now release the videos within 60 days.
Lightfoot's statement referred to "historic reforms" that the city had made. However, the changes have been slower than expected, and the city has struggled with some of the consent decree deadlines. Lightfoot's administration attempted to block a TV station from showing a video of a botched raid by police in which a naked Black woman was handcuffed. The botched raid resulted in a $2.9million settlement with Anjanette.
Hatch and other supporters see Van Dyke's early release as a reminder of what they knew.
Chico Tillmon, a senior researcher at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, said that "it just reinforces this sense of hopelessness among African American communities, as well as reinforces the belief that police can continue to oppress those communities and be either exonerated, or given light sentences." He is also a former member of a gang.
He said that he had served 16 years and three months for conspiracy to buy drugs, and that a person who was openly and publicly convicted of murder did 3 1/2 years. This kind of thing happens repeatedly."
Hatch's anger is partly rooted in a feeling that the criminal justice system was almost there to help a Black victim to police violence. The judge called it a legal audible and sent Van Dyke to prison for second-degree murder. This allows defendants to serve half of their sentences if they behave well in prison, not 16 counts of aggravated Battery.
Craig Futterman is a University of Chicago professor of law who led the push for the release of the video. He called the sentence "a slap on the face of Black people and those of us concerned about police accountability."
Futterman stated, however, that it was "nearly unbelievable" that there had been a murder conviction and prosecution.
The Rev. Marvin Hunter believes that the sentence is woefully insufficient, but he stated that it does not take away the importance of the case.
Hunter stated that Jason Van Dyke would have been in prison if he had received one day. He was the first. "Police across the country have been convicted of killing Black people since then."
Joseph McMahon was the special prosecutor that led the team of lawyers that secured Van Dyke’s conviction. He asked the judge to impose a 18-20 year sentence. He said he hopes people won't believe Van Dyke escaped death.
He said, "I understand that this is hard to accept, particularly for minorities marginalized by the police and criminal justice system for decades. But this (the conviction) is a sign for progress."
McMahon said, "Any length of the time for a former police officer is difficult." McMahon said that McMahon was physically attacked and spent most of his time in isolation. This is due to the real danger he had faced for the past 3 1/2 years.
Hatch believes Van Dyke's release could not have come at a better time for the police department. They are trying to rebuild public trust after the McDonald's case.
He said, "They're trying restore faith in law enforcement now that we have this?" It will be even more difficult to get people to complain about police officers."
